


Golden Promise

by fab_fan



Series: MFS Week [5]
Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25201171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fab_fan/pseuds/fab_fan
Summary: She had never seen Raelle like this before.Never.The invisible fist punched Scylla in the gut, and her mark stung.Goddess. No.“You believed everything they said about me.”------Follow-up to MFS Week Day 6: Gold (Soulmate AU)
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Series: MFS Week [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807099
Comments: 21
Kudos: 264





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after and in the same 'Universe' as Gold from MFS Week 2020. (Day 6). Should read that one first, if you haven't already. Helps this make a bit more sense.

It was so quiet, and all Scylla could do was wish for the screeching seeds to come back. To blast into her like a windstrike and take over every part of her mind, forcing her to relinquish all thoughts and feelings and solely focus on surviving each blow.

But, the box was long gone, and she was left alone with nothing more than her own mind to keep her company. Her own thoughts and the dark shadows clawing at her soul.

Her soul.

Her fingers trembled against her forehead. 

Raelle was gone. She had been there, and they took her. Forced Scylla to see her, feel her, be with her, and then ripped her away like she was nothing more than some tool, some useless thing they could toss around to get their way.

They took away her soulmate and acted like it didn’t matter.

Went into her mind, saw her deepest memories, and didn’t care that they violated her, took from her. Took her privacy. Took her consent. Took her thoughts and feelings and dignity and past without blinking an eye. Took Raelle.

Used them both without one ounce of regret.

Scylla had no idea what was happening.

Was Raelle ok? Had they hurt her? Was she chained up somewhere like Scylla was? Was she trying to find her? 

What was she thinking? Feeling?

Her face, shattered like Scylla’s heart was, haunted Scylla’s mind. The way she felt, hands shaking as she touched Scylla’s mark. The sounds of her sobs. Tears more powerful than the most unrelenting monsoon flooded Scylla’s chest, and she forced them back with every ounce of strength she could find.

She asked to see Raelle one last time.

See the girl who owned her heart and soul before they shipped her off to die.

Tried to use the one last piece of leverage she had to spend one more moment with her girl.

What would they tell Raelle? What had they told her already? 

What did Raelle believe?

Scylla needed to see her. Tell her it was ok. That she loved her more than anything. She was sorry for everything. She would always love her. Was so happy to have found her. So happy that Raelle was her soulmate.

She was so damn lucky to have Raelle as hers. 

That she would always be Raelle’s.

Nothing else mattered. Not the Army. Not the Spree. Only their bond. Only the fact that Scylla meant it when she said she wanted her. She wished so hard, wished every day, that they had run away. She let Raelle take her far away from all this. Leave their medals on the door and go to the beach. Swim in the ocean. Kiss under the sun and the stars. 

Her chest shuddered. How long had it been since Raelle was dragged away from her? Days? Weeks? Hours?

Everything was so messed up. 

Did the Army figure it out? They never told their superiors about their marks. Had Raelle? When she was trying to find her, had she told someone? Anacostia? Alder? Anyone? 

Is that why they used her?

Would they hurt Raelle because she was linked to Spree? Would Raelle be punished because of her?

She had to see her. Make sure she was ok. 

She wordlessly cursed the chains tying her down. 

The chains that made them both slaves now kept them apart.

Kept Scylla from fixing this. 

Did they know how much it hurt to be away from her lover? To wonder if she was out there wondering about her?

Raelle wouldn’t stay away. Not if she knew Scylla was somewhere. Raelle wasn’t the kind to wait. She would race into the fray without a plan or an idea of what to do except fight and protect.

Would she have to live knowing her soulmate was dead?

When Scylla arrived in the Caribbean, would they execute her quickly? 

Would Raelle know the moment it happened?

Would Scylla be able to tell her she loved her one last time? Would anyone comfort her soulmate? Understand the pure unadulterated grief and pain that losing _the one_ would wrought on her fragmented soul?

Raelle already had so much pain and agony hidden within her. Grief that raged like a wild untamable animal. That caused her to wish for death when she came to Fort Salem. 

Would Raelle do something stupid?

Had she already?

The guilt ampliphied as she thought of her mission. Of the Cause.

Raelle had been a mission. She still was, only different.

But, Scylla still believed in freedom. In liberation. In fighting and winning the one true war.

And, she had faltered. 

Unwillingly given in and let them take from her, learn from her.

They found her like they found her parents.

Would they be proud of her? Hate her? 

Would they understand why she did what she did?

Understand that she wanted something to fill the hole their deaths left in her?

Could her and Raelle have been like them? Happy? Together? Living a life about them and not waging endless wars for those who didn’t give a damn if they lived or died?

Would she see them again?

Would she see Raelle?

The door creaked open, loud and heavy.

“Any news on my Caribbean vacation?” Scylla tried to hide how much her hand shook, using her last bit of defense to cover how lost she was. 

Anacostia walked over, plate of food in hand. 

Scylla felt her empty stomach grumble. She couldn't remember the last time she ate actual food. Food she didn’t worry was a trick or nothing more than mere scraps meant to keep her life sustained and nothing more.

Had it been at the wedding? Playfully teasing her girlfriend and Tally as they munched on expensive canapes and got tipsy on champagne? Jokingly tossing grapes at Raelle for her to catch in her mouth and tasting the alcohol on her tongue?

The plate was set in her lap, and Scylla grasped it, but she couldn’t stop the words from coming out, more desperate and scared than she ever wanted to reveal to the older woman. “Am I going to be executed?”

“Calm down.” Anacostia intoned sternly. She strode back to the door.

Before Scylla could reach for a piece of fruit, she felt a tingling along the back of her neck. A warm comforting caress. 

No.

It couldn't be.

Her hungry mind was playing tricks on her.

She had asked to see Raelle, but she hadn’t come. 

Anacostia hadn’t brought her.

Had she?

She watched Anacostia step outside the door and pause.

The door didn’t close.

Then, like the moon rising over the horizon into the twilight, bathing the darkness in its radiant pale light, protecting all from the shadows and monsters, Raelle turned the corner and slowly stepped into the room.

It was her.

It was really her.

Raelle had come.

She quickly set the plate down, food forgotten, and stared at her, drinking her in. Her hands itched to reach out. To trace the scar that made her even more beautiful. Kiss her lips. Breathe in the mixture of soap, sun, and old country roads that clung to her skin and could always make Scylla feel safe when she nuzzled her nose into pliant flesh and let _everything Raelle_ envelope her.

Raelle was her home, her soulmate, and she felt it every time she was in her arms. 

There was so much she wanted to say. To tell her. To make her understand.

As the seconds ticked by, though, Scylla noticed something was wrong.

The sheen of joy drifted away, the curtain pulling back to reveal not a grin that always made Scylla’s heart skip a beat but, instead, a thin straight line. Normally bright blue eyes were cold, almost steel instead of sky. Where Raelle was normally brimming with emotion, with passion and energy, she looked tired. Exhausted. Stoic. She was holding herself back. Holding herself in check. 

Relle never held back with her. 

She was patient when Scylla needed her to be, but she never hid from her. 

The curve of her jaw gave the tiniest of tremors, and Scylla felt it like a slap to her face. 

No warmth came from her girlfriend. 

She was like an ice sculpture, empty and unmoved.

She had never seen Raelle like this before.

Never.

The invisible fist punched Scylla in the gut, and her mark stung.

Goddess. No.

“You believed everything they said about me.”

Raelle stared at her. Face revealing nothing to anyone except the girl who knew her better than she knew herself. Her soulmate who could feel her, studied her to the point she could detect even the smallest change in a smile. 

The girl who tried to prepare herself for a discussion she hoped to never have.

“I loved you.”

Scylla felt her heart fracture, her chest sliced jaggedly in two. She forced herself to not react, to not feel it. She put all her attention on Raelle. On the war she would wage to make her understand. 

“I still love you.” She would always love her. Soulmate or no soulmate. She was Raelle’s. Mind, body, and soul.

“I know about Helen.”

Scylla’s mouth quivered, words fleeting. She needed to remain calm. Talk to Raelle like she would when Raelle was angry. When the inner turmoil would spill out and Scylla had to talk her down from her passionate emotional urges. She sat back, folding her hands in her lap. Methodical. Calm. Collected. The shelter against the storm.

“Have you done that to me before?”

“No,” she leaned forward, the battle to remain calm slipping away as Raelle’s voice remained blisteringly icy. “Never.” She fought for air, her lungs constricting painfully and stomach clenching, “I messed up. I...there’s no excuse...I was scared.” She was terrified of losing Raelle. Of being in love, of being connected to someone. She never got close to people. She was always moving, always hiding. 

Her first truly big assignment, and she fell in love.

She met her soulmate.

It was the scariest moment of her life. Knowing Raelle was hers but feeling her drift away, crumble through her fingers like sand because Scylla couldn’t open up to her. Kept parts of herself in the dark.

Didn’t know she could trust someone, let herself trust someone, know how to trust someone, the way she knew Raelle wanted her to. The way Raelle did with her.

Didn’t fully understand who Raelle would be for her until it was too late.

She pretended to be someone else, but...it wasn’t planned. It wasn’t malicious.

It was because she had to keep her. Even if for a little while longer.

Buy herself more time.

Because she wanted her.

Wanted to be seen.

Wanted to let Raelle know there was someone who cared if she lived or died.

Wanted someone to care if _she_ lived or died. 

“Scared of losing your mark?” Raelle asked.

There it was.

“It started out that way.” she wouldn’t lie. Not anymore. “But you were...you. I love you. I promise. I promise I’m telling the truth.”

Raelle just stared at her. “Was any of it real?”

Her broken heart exploded into a million pieces. Real? How could it not be? “All of it. Raelle, you have to believe me. I have nothing to gain by telling you this.” Her voice cracked, “They’re shipping me off to die.”

Raelle didn’t react. An almost imperceptibly twitch of an eyelash was all that showed she even heard her.

Scylla tried to look into her eyes. Tried to find the person she wanted to spend forever with. The love that was _real_. 

A fine sheen of tears spread over unfeeling orbs.

“Well, we all go sometime.”

Scylla couldn’t stop the tormented gasp wrenched viciously from her lungs and past the knot in her throat as Raelle turned away from her. She felt each step her lover took. Each footfall a twisting stab to her mangled chest.

Then, _her_ Raelle showed up.

“Why did you pick me!” Raelle spun around, unable to suppress her anger, her grief, any longer. “Is it because my mom died, and you thought I’d be a likely convert? Because of my mark?”

Scylla shook, straining against the chains, “Does it look like I’m calling the shots around here? They didn’t tell me!” Another sob built in her belly. Raelle had never looked at her like that before. She had never seen such rage...such sadness...directed at her from the blonde.

It was heart wrenching.

“You know what, I get it.” Raelle gestured wildly, “I get it. I was the sickest weakest gazelle in the herd. I was easy prey for you.” Her voice growled low in her throat, “I had your mark.”

How could she think that? She couldn’t believe that. “You have no idea how powerful you are.”

“I don’t feel powerful. I feel broken. Thanks to you. I’m sorry we ever met, Scyl.”

As Raelle turned away from her one last time, Scylla refused to hold back any longer. Refused to care about guards listening in or being vulnerable with someone else.

Raelle was walking away from her. Forever.

“I chose you!”

Raelle paused.

“I had orders to deliver you. I chose you...instead of them. I chose you. Please,” her throat threatened to close as tears streamed down her face, “I chose you because you chose me. I’d choose you even without the mark. But, it’s there. It’s there, and you can feel it. You can feel me, and I can feel you, and this is real. There has never been anything more real in my life than you. Than how much I love you.” She tried to lean farther forward, muscles and chains straining and aching. “Raelle, please...I know you’re angry. I know I hurt you. But, you feel it, too. You know you do. I wanted to protect you. I didn’t know...I didn’t know what they’d do. I didn’t know what to do. I fell in love with you. Your mine and I’m yours, and I didn’t know what to do.” Her voice, so full of tears, barely choked out the words, “Baby, please. I never wanted this. I never wanted to hurt you. I only wanted you. You. I wanted us. I was scared. I’m scared. Please.” The tears became too much, and she gave in to the sob, lungs so tight she couldn’t take in air. She doubled over, tears dripping down her cheeks and splattering against her dirty trousers, forming tiny puddles in the grime.

She barely noticed when a presence knelt down beside her. Hesitant fingertips gently probed the back of her neck, settling on the golden mark at the nape under her tangled hair. A forehead pressed against her temple, sliding over as her head lifted to rest against her own. Warm puffs of air massaged her face. A palm tenderly cupped her knee.

“Pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you go through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.”

The dull ache in the back of her head began to dissipate, and the cuts and bruises around her wrists and ankles disappeared.

“No,” she weakly pushed at Raelle, “Stop.” Raelle shouldn’t heal her. 

“Shhh,” Raelle pressed her fingers more firmly against the mark.

A flash sparked in Scylla’s mind, a movie playing across the backs of her eyelids. 

_Raelle held Scylla close, their foreheads touching, arms wrapped around each other like the sheets cocooning their entangled bodies. She gently kissed Scylla, cherishing the chance to taste those lips, trying to let her know how much she was willing to give, that she was all in. She wanted Scylla, no matter what. Would be whatever she needed._

_“We’re in this together, ok?” Raelle whispered. “Whatever this means. Take as long as you need. I’m all in, ok? Friend...lover...soulmate. Whatever you want to call me. I’ll be here. We can move at your pace.”_

_“What if I move slow?” Scylla murmured._

_“I’d stand still with you.” Raelle vowed. “I’m yours.”_

_“I don’t want to hurt you.”_

_“You won’t.” she believed it with every fiber of her being. They might argue. They might have little spats about where to go on dates or if Beltane or Samhain was better. Most of those Raelle argued just to get a rise out of her girl, to see the glint in blue eyes and hear the witty remarks that made her laugh with happiness. They might even have huge fights about really important things like...if forever meant the same thing to them. But, no matter what, Raelle was hers, and she was Raelle’s. Scylla might have her secrets, but she would tell Raelle when she was ready._

_“Your pace, Scyl. Whatever happened before...I’m still here. I still want you. Mark or no mark. I want you.”_

_A tear slipped down Scylla’s cheek._

_Raelle kissed it away, letting her lips slide over to her ear. She gently grasped her hand and guided it to her inner thigh, letting fingers brush against her mark. “Shiny and gold. Nothing else I need. Only you can do that.” She nipped, “An’ even if it was only shiny, I’d still be crazy about you.”_

Scylla came out of the memory, out of Raelle’s memory, blinking rapidly. 

That was what Raelle thought? What she felt?

Raelle leaned into her, body heavy. 

She had seen Scylla choose her. 

She had seen Scylla choose certain death to dance with her one more time.

To protect her girlfriend. Her soulmate.

The blonde wept, tears mixing with Scylla’s as their bodies came together. Scylla grasped at her, the chains holding her back, only letting her touch an arm, an elbow.

“I’m sorry.” Raelle murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

“I love you.” Scylla whispered, “I promise. I love you. I love you.”

The door groaned open, “Collar.” the call almost contrite.

Raelle’s lips moved against Scylla’s, “I love you.”

Scylla squeezed her elbow, “I love you. Always. No matter what. I promise.”

Raelle nodded, catching her mouth in a kiss.

Scylla felt like she was on salva, flying in the night sky with the girl she liked more than she should.

Their lips broke apart, and she plummeted back to earth.

“Collar.”

“Go.” Scylla sniffled, “It’ll be ok.”

“I’ll find you. I’ll fix this. I promise. I’ll fix this.” Raelle vowed.

Scylla shook her head, “Rae, no.” 

Don’t do something stupid.

Don’t get yourself in trouble.

Not for her.

Her fate was sealed the moment she was born.

Raelle shouldn’t put herself in danger for someone who never had a future to begin with.

“You’re my girl. I’ll make it ok. I’ll come back. I promise.”

“Raelle.”

“I’m not losing you.” 

“Please, be careful. Don’t...put yourself in danger.”

Raelle huffed, “Should’ve thought about that before becoming my soulmate.”

“Not like I had much of a choice.”

“Collar!”

“Go,” Scylla pushed at her shoulders, “I’ll be ok. We’ll be ok. Please.”

Raelle gave her one last kiss, putting everything she felt into it, before standing up. She walked backwards, never breaking eye contact with Scylla. The moment she reached the door, Anacostia ushered her out, giving Scylla a glance before slamming the door shut.

The warmth along the nape of her neck slowly turned cold. 

Her whimper turned into a scream.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Listen to me very carefully,” Anacostia spoke quietly yet firmly, “You have five minutes.”
> 
> Five minutes?
> 
> Then, she felt it.
> 
> A whisper of a touch to the back of her neck. A ghostly caress across her witch’s mark.

The chill in the air seemed to grow as the minutes ticked by. Scylla felt tiny goosebumps dot the flesh of her bare arms, and she folded them in her lap, hands tucking under her elbows as her shoulders bent forward slightly. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend twin arms wrapped around her from behind, the back of the unforgiving chair a welcoming chest, the chains bruising her wrists tender hands. 

It grew colder.

Something didn’t feel right, but she didn’t know what.

She chewed on her bottom lip, rocking slightly as the temperature continued to plummet.

The conversation with Anacostia played over and over in her mind. For a moment it seemed like the Sergeant had listened, had understood. Had finally experienced the lifting of the veil to see the military for what it was. See their lives for what they were.

There was something in her eye. Scylla could feel it. 

Maybe she was able to bring one person into the truth. Make her see what Scylla believed deep down in her core.

Her teeth bit down harder, almost drawing blood.

Would Raelle believe her?

Listen to her?

Would she have earlier? Before all this? Back when they were still together, side by side, hand in hand, in love and slowly contemplating a future where they were happy.

Her chin began to tremble, and she mentally forced herself to calm down.

Raelle.

Goddess, Raelle.

She believed Scylla. 

Still loved her.

The memory she shared with Scylla as they linked teased the back of Scylla’s mind. Raelle wanted her. Was willing to accept her for who she was. Who she had been and could be. 

The door swung open, almost violently, and Anacostia rapidly strode in, plate of food absently in her hand.

“Your prison transport is scheduled in two hours.”

Scylla plastered a smirk on her face, the wave of dread washing over her turning her limbs cold and fingers numb as she pushed away the image of Raelle touching her, softly making an oath to her that was about more than gold and shine.

It was finally happening.

She was being sent away.

“Oh, I haven’t packed yet.” She watched Anacostia set the plate down, “I don’t know what bathing suits I’m gonna…”

“Shut. Up.” Anacostia cut her off, hands grabbing quickly at the chains carving into her wrists and leaving fresh blisters. “You’ll die there.”

She knew.

It was all she could think about.

Dying.

What it meant.

What it would be like. 

If she would meet her parents on the other side. See them again. Be able to hug her dad. Feel her mother’s embrace. See their smiles. 

She wondered if it would hurt. If it would be quick. What it would feel like to have her life, her essence, drip out of her until there was nothing left except skin and bones. 

Would they hang her?

Burn her?

Would the Spree know what happened to her? Would they care? Use her as a warning tale about what happens if you get caught by the Army. If you mess up. 

Another sad story about a young witch who died wanting freedom.

Would they tell Raelle?

Did Raelle know it was today?

Graduation day.

She had heard the bells. Heard the music. 

Raelle graduated today.

She was moving on to War College today.

Scylla wanted to be there. Watch from the stands as her girlfriend learned the news. Celebrate with her. Show her how proud she was. How happy. Because she was still there. Still alive. Still with Scylla. Not deployed early to die young on the front lines in some garbage plan infused with grief and sorrow and stupidity. 

She was fine and at Scylla’s side.

Safe.

They could continue to grow stronger together. Learn together. Be together.

“What are you doing?” she asked, realizing Anacostia was undoing the heavy metal cuffs.

“I have no idea what I’m doing.” Anacostia unbuckled the wrist manacle and knelt down to undo the weight at Scylla’s ankles. “Against every piece of wisdom that I know and hold dear,” she quickly unclasped the cuffs and stood up, “I’m giving you a fighting chance.” She stepped around and undid the silencer, “‘Cause I think you deserve it.” She moved around to face Scylla, “Don’t make me wrong about that.”

Scylla rolled her neck, her throat sore and strained from the device. Her mind fought to comprehend everything that was happening. 

What Anacostia was doing for her.

Someone she once thought hated her.

Someone who despised her relationship with Raelle.

Someone she knew was like her, deep down. Had to understand what drove Scylla. That the Army wasn’t perfect.

Scylla swiped at the chains, fully removing them. Her entire body ached, hands and feet throbbing as blood rushed to them. 

“The place is crawling with guards, you’re on your own there.” Anacostia said, “Hurry, hurry, hurry.”

Finally free, Scylla stood up, unable to mask the spark of gratefulness coated in confusion. This woman was letting her go. 

She was being set free.

“You’re gonna have to make this...look good.”

Her escape. 

Scylla’s head was a jumble of thoughts. Where could she go? What would she do? Where was the safest place? How many guards were out there?

She silently gasped as a lighter appeared in the officer’s hand.

A lighter.

Her best tool. The smallest and yet most powerful protection she had. 

She reached for it, but Anacostia pulled back, “Hold on to the part of you that’s good.”

The part of her that’s good.

Raelle.

She meant Raelle.

As their hands met, Scylla swallowed thickly. She asked the first thing that came to mind, “Did her dad show up?”

Anacostia frowned.

Scylla ran her thumb along the smooth metal, “She said her dad was coming to graduation. Did he?” Her mouth flickered, “She wanted us to meet.”

“We don’t have time for this.”

Scylla stared at her, trying to search her eyes for answers, “Was she ok? At graduation? Is she ok?” She had to be ok. Tally and Bellweather would have been with her. Her dad. All the people who cared about her. 

Everyone except Scylla.

“Now is not the time…”

“She graduated.” Scylla interrupted her. “Made it to War College. Was she happy?”

She hadn’t seen Raelle since the blonde left her, Anacostia leading her away from her one promised goodbye. Raelle’s vow to come back, to find her, to fix this, echoed in her mind. Haunted her. Made her both hopeful and terrified. 

She wanted to see her again.

But, she never wanted Raelle to help her. Not when Alder was behind all of this. 

Alder would not care that Raelle was in love. That they were soulmates.

She would see an insubordinate private not even worthy of the bottom of her boot.

“Where is she?” 

“Ramshorn…” Anacostia warned.

“Please,” Scylla swallowed down the anxiety and pride, needing one last favor from this woman who was unexpectedly offering her a chance at life, “I just want to see her. I...I need to see her.”

See her soulmate.

Anacostia sighed, a sound that made Scylla stand up straighter, frown a little harder.

Something was wrong.

The room grew even colder.

“Listen to me very carefully,” Anacostia spoke quietly yet firmly, “You have five minutes.”

Five minutes?

Then, she felt it.

A whisper of a touch to the back of her neck. A ghostly caress across her witch’s mark.

Her eyes widened, and she couldn’t stop herself from peering over Anacostia’s shoulder toward the door.

A moment later, still dressed in her dark blue uniform, buttons polished and scourge well oiled and strapped to her side, was Raelle. Like some dashing heroine appearing to rescue the damsel from the dungeon.

But, Scylla was no damsel and this was no fairytale.

She didn’t care.

Raelle was there.

She came back.

Scylla ignored the look Anacostia shot her as the older witch stepped aside.

Blue met blue, both hovering, neither able to move but silently begging to be in the other’s arms.

With a twitch of her lips, Raelle launched herself across the threshold and bounded forward.

Scylla met her halfway, both crashing together like the sand and sea, arms wrapping around the other so tightly they looked like two souls joining into one. 

Scylla squeezed her eyes shut, tears pricking the backs of her eyelids as strong safety enveloped her. She dug her nose into the woolen shoulder, breathing in the scent of soap and sweat and sunshine that clung to her lover like a blanket, offering the familiarity of home. Her breath hitched as a hand gently cupped the back of her head, slowly sliding down to press hot fingertips against the patch of shimmering gold beneath her dirt streaked hair. She held Raelle to her, cradling her as close as she could, feeling her heart beat against her own.

A cheek pressed against her temple, lips drifting down to brush against her ear, “Hi.”

Scylla choked out a wet chuckle, “Hi.”

She felt Raelle’s chest shake against her own and pulled her impossibly closer. Her heartbeat began to sync with her lover’s, steady and true, jittering at a sense of something being off. A desperation crept up her spine, seeping through calluses and into her nape, flickering along her neck and shoulders. 

Forcing herself to lift her head, she caught broken blue eyes trying so hard to appear perfectly clear and unencumbered by unspoken aches and regrets. Her palms went to curve around sharp features, thumbs smoothing over cheeks fighting not to crumble. “Are you ok?”

Raelle huffed out a desolate sigh and offered her a tremulous smile, “Missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” Scylla drew her in, “So much. Goddess,” 

Their lips met, and Scylla felt the entire world drop away. There was nothing but the feel of a soft mouth accepting her own, slowly savoring with a hunger born of a passion and desire so deep it was primordial. Forged in fires by the goddess herself.

A whimper fell between them, neither sure if it was her or her partner who gasped. A surge of emotion undeniably haunting rushed into Scylla, her spirit singing as a flood of feelings sprung in her chest. 

Devotion. Love. Sadness. So much sadness.

She could feel herself losing grip, fracturing wordlessly behind fragile walls.

Could feel her lover breaking down, nothing more than a flimsy unseen shield hiding her destruction.

Lips parting, she leaned back, dodging a chasing mouth as Raelle sought one more kiss. Her fingers absently brushed against her temple, her brow, the shell of her ear, “Rae,”

Raelle swallowed past a lump in her throat, “I love you.”

The first tear dropped.

“I love you,” Raelle continued. “So damn much. Ok? Mark or no mark.”

Scylla nodded, “I love you, too.”

Raelle’s lashes fluttered, forcing bloodshot eyes to not succumb to the wetness lurking inside, “I’ll find you. I promise. I’ll find you.”

Scylla shook her head. She wasn’t leaving Raelle. “Come with me.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” she implored, “We can leave right now. You and me.” She kissed her again, “Run to the beach. Somewhere safe.”

Raelle’s eyes closed against the hope pouring out of the older witch, “I can’t.”

“You can. Raelle, you can. I promise. I can keep us safe. I know a place.”

Raelle shook her head, reopening her eyes to pin Scylla with a look that turned her blood to ice, “I’ll miss you.”

No. This wasn’t happening. “I’m not leaving you.” She reached behind her, covering the back of Raelle’s hand and joining the fingers touching her mark, “I’m not going without you.”

She was not going to be separated from her soulmate. Not any longer.

They could both be free. Didn’t Raelle understand that?

“Scyl,”

“I know you have your friends. They’ll understand, Raelle. Everyone will understand.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, “You’re mine. I’m yours. That’s what matters, right? You told me that mattered.”

Raelle was the outspoken romantic one. The one who whispered at night and in the early mornings of a lifetime together. Who promised to care about her no matter what. 

Gold or not, Raelle vowed to be hers.

Raelle opened her mouth as if to speak, but the clearing of a throat interrupted her.

Anacostia.

“Times up.” the officer spoke almost regretfully.

“No,” Scylla watched as Raelle’s shoulders drooped, resignation painting her face in shades of blue and shadow, “Look at me.” She turned Raelle’s head so their eyes met, like she had so many times before when she sought her girl’s attention, sought to get her to focus on _her_ and not the insults and anger that swirled around her. “Be with me. We can do this. I promise.” Her voice cracked, “Choose me.”

Raelle stopped breathing as her entire body folded inward. Visibly shaken, she nudged Scylla forward till their foreheads met, “I have always loved you. Since the moment I met you. Before I knew. I would have loved you no matter what happened. I always will.”

Scylla felt ice at her nape.

“Collar,” Anacostia broke in.

Raelle stared into Scylla’s eyes, “If I could go back, I’d tell you I loved you sooner. That you were everything to me. That I was the luckiest person in the world because I met you. That you were mine, and I was yours.”

Past tense.

She was using past tense.

“Raelle,”

“It’s ok.” Raelle surged up, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, “I love you. I’ll find you. I promise.”

Then, she ripped herself away, barely whispering a “Be safe.” before turning. She granted Anacostia a short look before jaggedly marching away, the cold filling Scylla’s bones with each step.

Scylla's hands hung in the air, screaming to follow, to Grab Raelle, pull her back and never let her go.

As she disappeared around the doorframe, Anacostia stepped into Scylla’s view, “Two minutes, and you go.”

Scylla licked her lips, the ice inside making her mind lethargic. She let her gaze shift to the taller woman.

Anacostia gave her a glint of softness in her brown orbs, “I’m sorry.”

Sorry that she was being separated from her soulmate.

Sorry for what was happening to them.

Sorry for something Scylla didn’t even know about.

“Take care of her?” Scylla asked, “Please?”

Anacostia’s face shifted, too fast for Scylla to catch what it was. She gave a sharp nod before gesturing at the lighter, “Be smart.”

Scylla held up the tiny device. Letting the pad of her thumb rest on the lid, she flipped it open, “What isn’t she telling me?”

She knew something was wrong. Could feel it.

Feel it in the glacier where her soul used to be.

Anacostia shook her head, “There’s no time. Focus. Get out of her. Give yourself a chance.”

“I’m going to come back for her.”

Anacostia dipped her head.

A tiny flame appeared, “When did you know?”

When did she know they were soulmates.

“Does it matter?”

No, it didn’t.

“I love her.”

“I know.”

“I’m going to be with her."

“I know,” she lifted her chin, “Go.”

"Thank you." Then, Scylla muttered under her breath and let the flame ignite.

* * *

As she ducked out of the building, Anacostia’s form rigid and straight, and darted across Base toward the gates, she noticed a line of transport trucks idling nearby. 

Each footstep she took closing the distance between herself and the caravan heading in the direction of the airfields had her feeling colder and colder.

The trucks roared to life and bustled away as she slipped behind a copse of trees and changed back to her true form.

A familiar touch tingled against the back of her neck.

Her head whipped up, eyes wide. Her neck snapped to the side, vision tracking the vehicles as they rumbled away.

Raelle was on that truck.

Raelle was driving away.

On a truck heading away from the barracks and the celebrations.

Away from the classrooms and training rooms.

Toward the airfields used for high level special forces training modules.

And deployments.

It hit her like a revelation.

A sick desperate agonizing revelation.

Raelle was not going to War College.

The back of her neck burned.

A silent scream echoed in the quiet.


End file.
